PUPILS got to orbit into space this week when author and astronomer, Sheila Kanani paid a visit to their school.

The education, outreach and diversity officer at the Royal Astronomical Society, who has also presented programmes for the BBC, rocketed into Thorneyholme Primary School in Clitheroe on Tuesday to chat to the children about space.

Deputy headteacher at Thorneyholme, Olga Jackson, said: "Pupils were delighted to welcome Dr Sheila Kanani to the school.

"They learnt many new and exciting facts about space, as well as how Sheila became a space scientist."

Dr Kanani, who the Inspiring Women in Technology award in 2014 and is also an author, carried out an astronaut training workshop during her visit, which allowed the children to participate in activities such as making and testing space bones, cracking Russian codes, designing a space meal and reaction testing.

They also got to measure their height in space and manipulate objects while wearing pressurised spacesuit gloves.

Dr Kanani talked about how she became a children's author and signed copies of her books, including Space on Earth (intergalactic facts about the world around us) for the children.